Telegraph tape reperforator



Dec. 10, 1946. J. A. SPENCER TELEGRAPH TAPE REPERFORATOR Filed July 22, 1942 1 INVEKNTOR 4444:: 4. 24-week ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 10, 1946 UNITED STATES 2,41%,300 TELEGRAPH TAPE REPERFORATOR James A. Spencer, Teaneck, N. J., assignor to America, a'corporation of Radio Corporation of Delaware ApplicationJuly 22, 1942, Serial No. 451,878

This invention relates to improvements in telegraph tape reperforators and has particularly to do with a device of this character which is capable of automatic operation for duplicating in a plurality of tapes the code signals which were previously perforated in a master tape. tion has particular utility :in the preparation of duplicate tapes, one of which is intended to be utilized at the place where it is prepared, and the other of which is intended to be transported physically in a sealed package to the intended receiving station in time to be used for deciphering cryptographic messages. The invention :is not, however, limited to such use.

In cryptographic telegraphy it is necessary 8 Claims. (01. 164-114) My inven- P utilize identical tapes for ciphering at the transmitting station and for deciphering at the receiving station. Heretofore such tapes have been prepared individually by keyboard perforators. Cryptographic tapes are used in conjunction with message tapes for interchanging the marking and spacing elements of code signals so that they shall be rendered unintelligible if the signals themselves are intercepted by an unauthorized person. In an application Serial No. 444,658, which was filed May 27, 1942, jointly by Loyd A. Briggs and myself, a system is disclosed wherein an enciphering tape is used simultaneously with a message tape at a transmitting station for characterizing the marking and spacing elements of code signals. That system also discloses how a replica of the enciphering tape may be used at the receiving station as a deciphering tape. When deciphering is to be accomplished, the received signals are utilized jointly with impulses locally derived from a deciphering tape sensing device so that all sense reversals which were produced at the transmitter by the cryptographic tape are compensated and the original code signals of the message tape are restored. It will, therefore, be apparent that such restoration could not be obtained at the receiving station unless the perforated tapes used at each end of the circuit are identical.

Accordingly, it is an object of my invention to 2 operation into a reperforating operation applied to a. plurality of blank tapes.

Among the advantageous features of my invention is the facility with which a cryptographic or other tape of any desired length may be prepared in duplicate by using sequentially a number of shorter lengths of master tape. It is an object of my invention to provide this facility, so that duplicate tapes of any desired length may be made available for cryptographic signalling without danger of interruption of cryptographic message transmission by breakage of spliced pieces of tape.

Other objects of my invention, as well as advantages thereof, Will be brought out in the description to follow. This description is accompanied by a drawing, the sole figure of which shows in an elevation view the essential parts of a multiple tape reperforator constituting a preferred embodiment of my invention.

While there are numerous types of telegraph tapeperforators which have been in commercial use fora long time, 'I have found that one known as the -llvheatstone perforator may readily be provide a telegraph tape reperforator which is suited to the requirements for automatically reading the perforations in a given master tape and newly perforating a plurality of tapes which :shall representing the code signals.

modified and supplemented by new mechanism in such manner as to carry out the objects of my invention. The invention though not limited to the use of a modified Wheatstone perforator is best illustrated in combination with such a device.

To those skilled in the art, it is well known that a Wheatstone perforator may be manually operated'for spacing the tape as the code perforations are applied. 'A row of feed holes is also perforated simultaneously with the rows of holes If the tape is intended for use in a Morse code signal transmitteror in a cable code transmitter, then only two rows-of code perforations are applied longitudinally of the tape. When, however, the tape is to be used for five-unit or seven-unit printer code signals, the perforations are generally arranged transversely of the tape and on both sides of the sprocket feed holes. In the embodiment herein illustrated, the principles of my invention are sufficiently exemplified by its application to a 'Morse signal perforator. Such changes as would be necessary for adapting the invention to a printer code perforator involves merely the addition of more punches and punch hammers, as

will be apparentto those skilled in the art.

In order to sense the perforations in a master tape, I preferably feed such a tape l8 step-bystep through a gate G by means of a sprocket wheeli l. The sprocket teeth of this Wheel mesh with-the c'enter1holes in the tape. The tape 'is held in' place for'the sensing operation by means of a latch I. In accordance with conventional tape transmitter design, the latch I can be lifted flexible bail 6 for engagement with each of the.

detents 27, the latter being integral with respective ones of levers L. By means of a screw H threaded into the lever 25 and held in place by a, lock nut 28, the extent of movement f the lever L is adjustably controlled.

At the upper end of the lever 25 is pivoted a pawl member arranged to cooperate with a ratchet wheel R on the shaftof the feed sprocket. The pawl is held in engagement with the ratchet wheel by means of a spring l6.

It is apparent that whenithe crown of the cam 8 moves the bail 6 to the right, the'seeker pins 2 are withdrawn from perforations in the tape and immediately thereafter the tape isfed from right to left by the counter-clockwise rotation' of the sprocket wheel 4, this rotation being provided by a retractive movement of the pawl 5.

. .When the bail 6 returns to its normal position,

the seekers 2 are caused to rise under the influence of the springs 15. If one or another seeker passes through a perforation in the tape l8, then a lever 3 is liftedsuificientlyto; place its projection 34- in line with-a hammerhead 35 on a punch bail 1. This punch bail is mounted on the lever arm 26 by means of a screw 29. The

lever arm 26 is pivoted at 12. The upper end of .the bail l is adjustablyspaced away from the :lever 26 by meansof ascrew l1 threaded into lever 26 and secured thereto by means of a lock nut 36..

The levers 3 are arranged to coact with punches 3|, the latter being held in place'in a punch block l0 and suitably aligned with a gate,

nism may comprise a sprocket wheel similar to the sprocket wheel 4, and that it may be actuated V in step with the sprocket wheel '4 simply by providing a reciprocating pawl to be driven by the same motor as that which drives the cam shaft 22,

In addition to the punches 3| which are required for punching the code perforations in the new tapes in accordance with perforations sensed by the seekers 2 in the master" tape l8, I'provide a center-hole punch 33 which is actuableby a plunger bar 39, the latter being slideable in ways formed in a guide block 40. The manipulation of the cam 20 may be facilitated by the use of 'a handle 9 by which the cam may be rotated through an'angle of substantially 90? on itspivot centers There is no need to lift and lower the righthand end of the-plunger bar 39 since it must be actuated at every'stroke of the bail :1; Hence, the lifting lugs Safare provided only for the two lever bars 3. Furthermore, the

plunger bar 39 requires no spring l9, since its right hand end is always held at a suitable level to be struck by the projection 35 on ball 1.

When one (or both) of the seekers 2 is opposed by an unpunched portion of the master tape 18, then the lever L fails to rise appreciably. Theprojection '34 doesjnot rise, to'the'level of the hammer head 35 "onthe end of bail 1. In

such case, therefore, no operation of the corresponding punch 3| will take place.

As the cam 8 continues to rotate, ball 7 returns 'to its normal position under the influence of a spring l4. The punches 3| and 33, are then permitted to be withdrawn from the tape or tapes passing through the die block 32.

' drawal is effected by means of springs 36 operating upon a movable plate 31 and against shoulders 38 on the punches 3| and 33.

In order to hold theflevers 3 out of the path of the hammer head 35 on the bail 1- while insertingtapes under the latch I, it is preferable to utilize a cam 20 which can be rotated through an arc of 90 by manual operation. This operation looks down the levers 3 until such time as itis desired to start the punching operation.

' In view of the foregoing description, the operconstructions than those herein shown and'described. The claims, therefore, are to be construed as though not limited'to the exact details of mechanism herein shown by 'way' of illustration; r v T I claim: a p l; A telegraph tape reperforator comprising a plurality of tape-perforation seeker members arranged'in alignment with rows of code perforationsin a master tape to be fed past a sensing position mechanism actuated by a. single rotary cam for causing said seeker members to perform a sensing operation, a tapeperforator having punches corresponding to said seeker members, punch'selectors individual to said punches, at 'leasttwo of said selectors being selectable by said mechanismin' accordance with said code perforations, and a bail reciprocally operableby-said cam upon each revolution thereof to communicate power through selected ones of said selectors to their respective punches, thereby to reperforate new tape in accordancewith said master tape. 7 I Y 2. Tape perforating apparatus comprising in combination, a controlling device having seeker pins aligned with rows of code perforations to be sensed in a master tape after each step of tape feed, a, single rotary cam, means including a pawl pivoted on a lever arm andreciprocally actuated by'said cam in cooperation with a spring, whereby said'master tape is fed step-by-step past a sensing position, lever means actuated by said cam for periodically withdrawing said seeker pins from the plane of said master tape, a tape perfor'ator assembly having code punches corre- 'sponding to said seeker pins and a, feed-hole punch, punchselectors'individual to each of said punches, a bail actuable by said cam, means actuated by said seeker pins for providing selective control of the selectors ass'ociat'ed'with said code punches, and means including a'bail recipro- .of said selectors thereby to perforate replicatapes in accordance with said master tape.

This with 3. In a telegraph tape reperforator, a plurality of reciprocable seeker pins adapted to sense the presence or absence of code perforations at different positions in a master tape, a punch and die mechanism havinga blank tape holder, one continuously rotatable cam operable in association with a reciprocable punch bail for causing said mechanism to work upon strips of tape in said holder, a single cam follower means actuable by said cam for feeding said master tape stepwise and for reciprocating said seeker pins, and another single cam follower means actuable by said cam and operable through said punch bail for actuating selected punches of said mechanism, the selection whereof is effected by the sensing operation of said seeker pins. v

4. A telegraph tape perforator comprising a punch and die assembly having a feed-hole punch and a plurality of code character punches, a punch selector individual to each of said punches, a, continuously rotatable cam, two reciprocating levers, each having an idler roller journaled thereon, said levers being pivotally mounted for sequential actuation by a single hump on the periphery of said cam, resilient means for maintaining contact between said idler rollers and the periphery of said cam, a master tape the code character perforations in which are to be copied in perforating new tape, a master tape sensing device comprising reciprocable seeker pins and a tape feeding mechanism, said sensing device being actuable by one of said reciprocating levers, means for causing each seeker pin, when it finds a code perforation in the master tape, to select a corresponding one of said punch selectors, and r.

a punch hammer operable by the other of said reciprocating levers, in cooperation with a nonselectable one of said punch selectors to perforate said new tape with a continuous row of feed holes,

also to perforate code holes by cooperation with selected ones of said punch selectors.

5. A telegraph tape perforator comprising a actuating the tape feeding device, the sensing punch-and-die assembly having a feed-hole punch and a plurality of code character punches, a reciprocable lever system having two levers disposed in diametric opposition to a continuously rotatable cam, said levers being alternately movable by said cam during an operating cycle, a master tape having code character perforations which are to be copied in perforating new tape, means operable by one of said levers-for sensing the code perforations in said master tape, and a selectively operable device under joint control of said sensing means and of the other one of said levers for causing said new tape to be perforated by said punch-and-die assembly in accordance with said master tape.

6. A perforator in accordance with claim 5, and including a non-selectable punch striker for communicating the motion of the other of said levers to said feed-hole punch.

'7. A perforator in accordance with claim 5, and including a plurality of punch strikers selectable by said sensing means for communicating the motion of the other of said levers to said code character punches.

8. A telegraph tape reperforator comprising a master tape feeding device operable step-by-step to bring successive transverse rows of code perforations into a sensing position, sensing means operable at each step of said feeding device to detect the code combination punched in said tape, a plurality of punches arranged to perforate a replica tape, a punch bail reciprocable at the cadence of the step-by-step operation of said feeding device, means under control of said sensing means for causing said bail to apply power to selected punches, and. a driving mechanism for means, and the bail, said mechanism including a rotary cam against the periphery of which two diametrically opposed cam followers are pressed.

JAMES A. SPENCER. 

